Dear editor,
An open letter to Government of Alberta: The government carbon levy (it’s a tax) average cost numbers of usage are bogus unless everyone lives already in high efficiency homes. I calculated using an energuide 85 geothermal heated home (5 per cent of homes are this efficient) driving a car 20K annum at 5.7 l per 100K diesel (at least 25 per cent more efficient than gas) and second car 11.4 l/100k Gas - 10K annum.
At 2018 Government of Alberta rates 13.32 tonnes at $30= $396.06 + Car 1 $91.2+ Car 2 $37.00; totaling $524.26. This does not include extra GST (included on top of all costs and taxes in fuel- not goods or services), extra cost to food, anything purchased. In my case it adds to my total cost per year for utilities and drive efficient cars a 14.75 per cent increase in costs for utilities and fuel alone per year. None of us are getting a 14.75 per cent raise.
Your government needs to reign in the spending, we don’t need a $750,00 media campaign to understand the budget. The media well represented the effects. It would create far more jobs to gift each taxpayer (unemployed) tax free $5 billion of $40,000 each = 125,000 jobs, with less total debt, so these families can have the money to invest to be energy efficient, and contribute to the economy, than wasting money on more government inefficient job creation programs and hiring more public employees Efficiency agency? We can figure out how to be efficient ourselves, we just don’t have the funds as it is stolen before we get it. Alberta has already spent a small fortune on infrastructure updates in last few years, and our infrastructure is in great shape!
Please start thinking about whom you truly represent, the carbon levy program is a total fraudulent misrepresentation, and was not anywhere on your election platform. It will do nothing to help global warming, and only hurt our economy more.
As to green initiatives, none of us want global warming, your government needs to work on the purchase side of the equation. Back in the 80’s Germany initiated a tax on HP(Kw) on vehicles, forced manufacturers to reduce packaging, making them responsible for waste packaging at consumer level. Public transportation is more efficient because of the density of population. Our transportation and greenhouse gases are far higher (and road upkeep) because our trucking industry is subsidized, as not paying full costs of damages. Full trailers should be mandated to destination transport by train.
For limited cost solar heating can reduce heating home costs (up to 45 per cent efficient). New homes should be mandated to use this technology. Solar power is only maximum 21 per cent, it would be far less expensive to subsidize to install in homes than to have corporations make a profit on development of large energy farms and transport. Most average homes these days use 25KWH a year or less electricity, and 75K BTU furnaces. A combination of solar heating/ wind/ solar heating would allow again for estimated 100,000 homes at $5 billion to get off the grid entirely, paid back over 20 years at three per cent (transferred with home registration to new owners if sold), less than the cost of carbon tax and utilities combined allowing for $3,000 a year utilities costs at today’s rates. The government can bulk purchase without margins the product(s) to be installed. Installation companies would make their margins on mandated labour margins of typically 25 points, and create further employment, and government tax revenues.
This would look to growth, employment, and green initiatives and a significant drop in carbon usage, as well reducing the need for extra utility infrastructure. Send me my fee for consultation of $600,000, I’m an unemployed Albertan, even though I don’t have the required University degree to work in government.
Robert Grier, Leduc County